This blog is to promote the restoration of biodiversity and forests for koalas from Dignams Creek to Wapengo

Koala spotting – foxes and shotguns

Earlier this week I set up an open container, with 5 litres of water in it, at a location where previously, the home ranges of a female and male koala overlapped. There were some possum scats at the base of the tree, but when setting up the camera, I came across some recent koala pellets.

The following day I went to check the camera and found a fresh koala pellet beside the tripod. Putting one and one together, I looked up the tree and there was a koala. It seems the beast had seen me first and was moving slowly toward the top of the tree. So I departed and came back a few hours later. Just visible in the photo below, the koala had moved back down the tree and appeared to be asleep, with one large and very furry ear pointing skywards.

It was gone the next day, with no indication it had an interest in the water. However, what I came across on the way was a pair of foxes, copulating on the road. The car appearing lead to a rapid decoupling and they both dashed into the bush.

The location of this sighting is about 50 metres from one of the NPWS’s 1080 bait stations. In this case, there was no sign that the bait had been dug up. The NPWS made a small change to Forestry’s baiting, moving the bait locations some metres back from the road. While there is no information to suggest this minor change may have reduced the number of foxes finding the baits. It does raise again, the issue of how effective the baiting program is and how it could be improved.

On the shotgun issue, Bega Shire Council has advised that the Bermagui Shotgun club are attempting to double the number of days they shoot at the Murrah range. Currently they are constrained to 12 days a years and a previous Council rejected an attempt to increase the number of shooting days.

While there has never been much support for the club in the local community, there is no certainty about which way the new Council will go. Rather it may be a question of how many councilors agree with the suggestion’s, particularly the one about koalas, on the shotgun clubs website, pasted below.

” . . . Protesters continued with personal attacks; claims of damage to habitat of non existent koalas and sooty owls; ingestion of lead by wildlife and stock; claims that 11.5 tonnes of lead would be washed into the Murrah River 1km away. “